Performance Assessment Comparison of Variable Fin Density Microchannels With Offset Configurations. Issue 16 (1st November 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gonzalez-Hernandez, Jose-Luis; Kandlikar, Satish G.; Hernandez-Guerrero, Abel
• Is Part Of: Heat transfer engineering. Volume 37:Issue 16(2016)
• Page Start: 1369
• Page End: 1381
• Publication Date: 2016-11-01
• Subjects: Heat -- Transmission -- Periodicals; 621.4022
• DOI: 10.1080/01457632.2015.1136146
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0145-7632

Abstract

Abstract : Current technologies for the cooling of integrated circuits (IC) chips employ single-phase liquid flow through microchannel heat sinks. The surface temperature in these devices increases along the flow direction, leading to low heat transfer coefficients toward the channel exit. Enhancement of the heat transfer coefficient while mitigating the temperature nonuniformity has been possible with the utilization of variable fin density microchannels. A microchannel cooling layer suitable for three-dimensional (3D) stacking of IC chips is studied in this paper. The effect of the variation of geometrical parameters and operating conditions on the overall performance of the cooling layer is reported. The overall performance of eight different configurations presenting offset strip fins with variable fin density has been evaluated and compared to two cases with smooth rectangular microchannels, one case for each channel height. The cooling layer, with a length of 8 mm and a width of 7.92 mm, dissipates a total thermal power of 200 W by means of pumping coolant through 12 flow channels. Results from this investigation demonstrate the capability of the proposed configurations to decrease the surface temperature nonuniformities and to maintain the surface temperature below the allowable limits for IC chips while achieving low pressure drops. A parameter for the overall performance assessment, named the overall performance index, has been proposed; by computing and properly comparing the values for this parameter, the best performing configuration is identified.